APRIL 2012

The Ball
D R E A M S D O N

D I E

Womens sport always seems to come off second best. If women arent having their bodies visually exploited, regardless of their ability, then theyre being ignored by the sporting world, or else labelled as too-manly. Where is the media coverage to boost womens sport and, as importantly, where is womens interest in sport?
By Simon Lewis (originally published in July 2005)

SPECIAL EDITION

GIRLS ON THE SIDE

REFLECTIONS ON WOMEN IN SPORT The difficulties, the challenges and the opportunities
NO BULL, JUST BALL
www.theball.co.za

Girls on the side: women in sport

Womens sport always seems to come off second best. If women arent having their bodies visually exploited, regardless of their ability, then theyre being ignored by the sporting world, or labelled lesbian. Where is the media coverage to boost womens sport and, as importantly, where is womens interest in sport.
BY SIMON LEWIS (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 2005)

great. Certainly, there were many waiting for her to fail: she didnt. In fact, she did rather well, better than many people had expected, but she did fail to make the impact she had hoped for. Ultimately, it knocked the wind out of her sails. Wie has no such apologetic streak, and she seems to be less bothered by any expectation to match the men. She is, rather, inspired by the pure challenge to her own ability. Sorenstam is currently twice as old as Wie, so perhaps it shows that the new generation isnt going to be blown by the wind so much as do the shaking up themselves. This new generation can do it easier: they travel lighter through life and carry less baggage. A similar wind blew through golf in the late-90s when Tiger Woods tore the opposition apart and ran around scything through the record books like a smoking chainsaw through cardboard. Woods opened up the world of CAN DO to people of all races and ages, one of whom was Wie herself, then a mere seven years old. So inspired was Wie by Woods Masters walkover in 1997 that she started playing golf with greater enthusiasm; she was clearly a seven-year-old with purpose and a lot of drive. Wies approach is refreshing for one bearing the standard for women worldwide, smiling when she says that it would be neat if she could be a Tiger Woods that breaks down barriers and, in her case, makes it easier for women to compete against men. She is, however, diplomatically quick to stress that she is not suggesting that women

As with all change, there often needs to be a rebel who forces that change. In the world of womens sport, Michelle Wie seems to be that rebel, in addition to being a 15-year-old occasional mall-rat who stands over six foot tall on size 10 (and growing) feet. When shes not changing the world or tripping through malls with her mates, she manages to keep ahead of her studies and maintain a level head on her shoulders. The youngest person EVER to play in a (mens!) PGA tour event, Wie already hits the ball the same distance as many men on the tour. Shes not going to sit back and let men rule the roost without a challenge: when she grows up she wants to take on the men in the PGA in a big way. She has a need to push herself to the limit, and she has the benefit that her generation no longer stands back while the pale male dominates everything. Shes cheeky, but not cocky. Another woman golfer who had a crack at teeing off with the men recently was Swedens Annika Sorenstam, but she was all a bit too apologetic afterwards, no doubt upset over not playing as well as shed hoped. Sorenstam seemed to shy away, overtly proclaiming her desire to return to the womens tour, to her place. Perhaps the weight of expectation on her had been too

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SHOULD play against men. Nonetheless, the fact remains that over the past decade she has embarrassed battalions of boys and men on the golf course, and her development hasnt been hindered by a love for sport that extends to her kicking a soccer ball around at break with the boys while her girlfriends sit chatting in the shade.
... OR NOT TO BE

fordshire University in the UK, an eminent proponent for equal opportunities for women, is quick to point out that men and womens bodies respond in similar ways to training. Take a male and a female, same height, weight, build and similar physical condition, and subject them to 6 weeks of identical training and conditioning and youll find both bodies have responded in very similar ways, says Cashmore. Test the people involved and you will find the females muscular strength is within five per cent of the males. Five percent is a lot when it comes to sports where brawn is a crucial factor, but most sports are further along the continuum and involve a greater skill factor. The further along the skill continuum you get, the more women are able to compete with men as the difference in physical strength becomes less significant. Clearly women have great potential for change, but such change happens when there is power and intent behind it. Change happens when the marketing machine gets fired up.
A RAINBOW AT THE END OF THE GOLD

One of the main voices being raised against women taking part on the mens tour is one subtle threat that packs a mean punch. They warn that if the best women join the mens tour their earnings will only be a fraction of what they would have earned on the ladies tour (where they would more likely be winning and finishing high up the leaderboard). With the loss of the top women the LPGA weakened and unable to maintain the interest of their sponsors will wither, they claim. Its a great argument: get the other girls opposed to Annika, Michelle and any others who are keen to take on the men. Inspire division in the ranks. Its a stupid argument, though, if you examine it. Until men and women are able to compete equally together, women obviously wouldnt always play on the mens tour they need success on the ladies tour to boost their career portfolios and earning potentials. However, they ALSO need mens competition in order to lift their own competitive levels. Women would, therefore, only appear sporadically at mens events. But clearly many men are concerned that the difference between men and women is not quite as unbreachable as some would have us think. Ellis Cashmore, Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at Staf-

Unless youre a really hot sportswoman with legs to die for and have learned how to pose with that delicious come-on smile as your thumbs tease your bikini down, you will struggle to get media exposure or big-time endorsements. Ironically, its the opposite for men. The good-looking ones with the great bodies dont automatically get the support they need to fulfil their own potential. Weve had more grim-looking sportsmen over the years than good-look-

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ing ones, but the only men who get the attention are the ones who win (damn them!). Not the beefcakes with no headline-grabbing honours. Thats because men are the consumers of those images, stories, and live coverage.

I guess its understandable as both scenarios are exactly what appeals to the supply and demand needs of the male sports-buying market ...
WERE WOMEN BORN EQUAL TO MEN?

Ryk Neethling and his fellow swimmers have battled for so long for decent media coverage and support. Ryk is a good looking bloke, hell of a body, modest yet not a pushover. Oh, and a damn good swimmer. The perfect guy for any gal. But endorsements, major sponsorships, decent funding? Well, precious little really, compared to mainstream sports. That is, until he, Roland and two other guys (not quite as good looking or hunky as R&R, ironically!) picked up some Olympic gold. Now its embarrassing you see more of those two than Graeme and Minki. Ryk hasnt changed nor become better as a commodity, he just became a bigtime winner. He has the same smile, same bod. Yet winning matters not in terms of who gets exposure and huge endorsement deals in womens sport. Mrs Iglesias: case in point! Obviously, though, swimming doesnt pack them in like soccer, rugby, cricket, tennis or golf, so theres less adspend and gate-money to make the swimmers rich, and the equipment sponsors arent going to be making gajillions from selling extra costumes at R60 a pop. So its about identity as a winner that matters in terms of earning male athletes and sportsmen big money, while for women its their identity as someone physically desirable for men.

A big bone of contention is that men and women are generally not allowed to compete side by side, and Cashmore claims that myths and male-dominated society over the past 120 years of organised sport have ensured the status quo. Women and men could be competing at comparable levels, he said, adding that women are advancing at a more rapid rate than men. Partly this is because women are pushing themselves harder, as they have a huge gap to close. They are chasing, and you often chase harder, as you know what your goal is. Womens progress in sport has been retarded not by their own physiological frailty or bodily differences, but by myths about their physical capabilities. If we could turn back the clock and start organised sports again, except allowing men and women to compete in the same events, we would have a very different history of sports ... and women would be holding their own in mixed team sports by now, claims Cashmore. You dont have to like sport and you dont even have to try your hand at playing or watching sport: but you do HAVE TO have the opportunities and the choice either way.

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THE SPIN CYCLE

erally like relating to the reading and photographic matter that we are provided with, or the sport we watch. This fact surely indicates that if women only played more sport, then they too would create a greater market for womens sport as an industry and a career. Absolutely true, although if you cast your eye back a century youll see where things started to go pear-shaped, as Cashmore points out. The idea of sport, as we understand it, is a peculiarly western male creation, built in fact to validate masculinity. The main organisations that gave us what we now regard as sports were instituted in the late nineteenth century around the time when the factory system was introducing machines to replace physical labour. This meant that mens physical work was less and less useful. According to some views, men created organised sport as a kind of substitute, as if they wanted a forum to demonstrate their physical superiority over women. Which is why women were excluded for the best part of the last century.
AND THE ANSWER IS ...

Womens disadvantage in the sporting arena is also largely an economic thing, and economic issues have two sides. Your market wants X, so you supply X. You give them a bit of Y and Z, but your focus is X. That is how you stay in business. If your readers arent interested in reading about black showjumpers, then youre not going to feature them. If people arent interested in white swimmers who look like Greek gods but who lack any gold around their neck, then the public dont want to read about them. Youre wasting space if you try to supply hockey or netball information while disregarding other mass-market sports. Of course, if your market starts to want more of Y & Z, why then the media starts to supply that. And thats the second issue. Its a vicious cycle, fuelled by media spin doctors and marketing moguls, but it is ultimately driven by what the market wants. Charitable benefactors are few and far between, so you need a sponsor who wants a bit of bang for their buck. A glimmer of hope remains in the fact that the supply and the demand for womens sport will always balance out perfectly, as most supply and demand generally does in the long run. Supply (and advertising and marketing bucks) will follow when demand increases, and being led by demand ensures a more sustainable, long-term product.
WHAT A MAN WANTS

The only reason men have more power and money in sport is because MEN SUPPORT MALE SPORT. They turn up to watch, youngsters buy the memorabilia, they join fan clubs and own season tickets. Sure, girls and women also get involved, but its men en masse. And THAT is the key! Theres nothing really stopping women from starting a whole new culture of sport. If thats what women want then they now have the

Any argument also has two sides: they dont always balance, but there are always two sides. Why dont men support or encourage womens sport? Well, mens interest in sport is extremely personal: its based on personal experience and personal aspiration. We gen-

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freedom to pursue it. Itll still take time, but theres room to build ... so long as women start by supporting womens sport. Many might bemoan the lack of support from male spectators and male corporate companies ... but if women dont start by building up a following and an infrastructure themselves then they cant expect an insecure male population to encourage further self-emasculation. Women will have to keep the ball rolling... and take charge of speeding it up. Think about the power of money and the greater power of supply and demand. Ill bet my house, my job and everything I own on one fact - if women started to turn out in their thousands to watch the ladies provincial matches or national tournaments, there would pretty soon be big sponsors involved. There would be stadiums. There would even be a womans sports magazine. Ill bet my life on it, cos its a pure economic fact. If you support it, they will support you. Most men play or have played a number of sports, and this helps to build mens sport as a whole, because in playing a sport you are more likely to be interested in watching the sport. You can relate to it, maybe even aspire to it. But weve never encouraged women to do the same, aside from encouraging them to take an interest in watching our mens sport with us (think dutiful wife or girlfriend!). Men have excluded women; but not always by force, reveals Cashmore. Many of the eminent physicians in the first half of the 20th century warned against women participating in sport. They feared

exercise and competition would lead to virilism (women taking on the physical characteristics of men) or infertility. The prohibitions on womens participation in sport were quite subtle in their own ways: women simply didnt want to get into something they thought was either going to hurt them physically or stigmatize them socially. Men also build themselves physically by playing sport. That gives them an increased physical edge over women, as well as an emotional one. A couple of boys are throwing a ball to each other. Little girl skips into the garden and asks them to throw her the ball. She drops it, or it klaps her on the head. The boys laugh, the girl feels stupid, and runs back into the house to help her mother out in the kitchen. Of course she looks stupid, and she has little co-ordination. But then she hasnt had the benefit of a lifetime of ball throwing, kicking, hitting and holding. Co-ordination is built up over a lifetime, as is physical conditioning. You dont get as toned by dancing around the kitchen as you do out on the golf course, or playing touch rugby, tennis, or any of the other sports that men and boys have held the monopoly on. The more you do it the better you get. Why does Tiger Woods hit a ball so much better and with greater consistency than everyone else in the world? Probably largely because of all the effort and time he has devoted to it. Yes, hes a genius, but his advantage is built on hitting hundreds of golf balls every day for the last 20 years. You get good like that. So the fact that some girls cant catch a ball shouldnt be embarrassing, as it just shows that they

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havent spent time catching balls.

STEP TWO

another match. That way youre sharing spectators, and the players are being exposed to greater swells of spectators. Reputations start being built. One step at a time.
BOYS WILL BE THERE, GIRLS

Having built your co-ord the same as little boys are allowed to, where do girls go from there? You have to watch womens sport! Your mothers and aunts need to pitch up for netball or hockey in the same numbers as uncles and dads go to boys rugby and cricket matches. You dont need to go mental like many sideline fathers, trying to relive their youth through their sons, but showing support en mass validates the girls and their sport. It shows an interest in them playing sport. With no spectators watching and maybe even cheering a bit, what are girls to think about sport? Oh, were just doing this to keep fit and in reasonable enough shape to draw some male attention? And your school peers need to also pitch up to watch. But arent most of the girls watching the guys play? Probably, and maybe thats the way the girls want it, and if so, thats great. No-one should be forced in any way regarding sport; it should be a pleasure and a privilege, not a duty. Getting onto a more competitive level, with your fledgling sports youre going to have to use a lot of ingenuity - and thats something women have in buckets. You cant expect, at this stage, to have 20 matches going on at 20 different venues and hope to have decent crowds at each game. Not at this stage of womens sporting revolution. You need to play at central venues, where crowds can congregate at one stadium or ground and wander from match to match. People who come to your match will perhaps stay on to watch
SO MRS MOHAMMED WENT TO THE MOUNTAIN ...

With 600 girls at a stadium for a day of hockey or cricket or soccer or rugby, well, Ill guarantee that youre going to start pulling the guys to your matches Ill bet my next prosthesis on that fact. If you build it, the boys will come ... in droves. Theyll go to check out the babes, of course, but before they know it theyll start to notice how you play. Theyll get to know about the better players, and word will spread. Legends will be built. Stars will be born. Aquarius will rub the sleep out of her eyes and leap out of bed ready to kick some boy butt. But, better still, why not adopt the methods used by tennis and athletics: piggyback with mens sport. Hijack their audiences and share their admin and marketing costs. Starting on a small scale, girls should ambush the high profile schools weeks, like Craven Week rugby and Nuffield cricket. Select a couple of the best girls sides from around the country and let them play their own matches during Craven Week on surrounding fields. The audience that is there to watch the boys will start getting to know, appreciate and respect girls cricket and rugby... and so the girls will benefit from the exposure.

The adult women could play curtain-raisers for professional soccer and rugby matches, while the lady cricketers could play 7-over slogs

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to fit in with the breaks of play during mens matches. It would be a great way to expose the male audience to womens cricket and its players, as well as giving the girls a chance to play in front of large crowds, building their reputations, experience and confidence. Of course, this brave new womens sporting world wouldnt be built in a day, but then neither was the current mens professional sporting world. Its taken decades of male support and privilege to attain our pro sporting world, but as women have a goal in mind to chase as well as a blueprint to follow, so potentially they can fast-track their own professional world. Looking forward, the most exciting possibility is not equal money for the big professionals, or more development courses and clinics for girls: no, the most exciting thought is the possibility that sharing equal opportunities to enjoy the world of sports will encourage a breakdown in stereotypes and prejudice. In short, it will bring men and women, girls and boys, husbands and wives closer together in a more natural way. Itll put us all on the same playing field. Thats fantastic because, although our differences do need to be appreciated and allowed to flourish... we all sure do love playing together!

Girls on the side: food for thought

If the above article has you nodding in agreement then perhaps youll need some help creating a Women in Sport Blueprint... or at least some more conversation pieces for the dinner table.
BY SIMON LEWIS (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 2005)

HOW TO BEAT THE BOYS

Compete fairly and equally for places along with boys, rather than only playing in your own team. This will help to raise your levels of play and competitiveness. How good would Jacques Kallis be if, for some reason, he had only ever been allowed to play in the womens cricket league? Play tennis to five sets like the men and youll build up your stamina and strength. It will discard one more argument against men and women receiving equal prize money at events. Find your level to compete at and play against males of equal ability. Improve your play (and that of your male opposition) through genuine and tough competition. Play with a mens side even if it means an SA womans Test player playing fourth league with men, or in a boys side. Thats how men improve their levels of competitiveness!
WHAT CAN WOMEN DO?

Play sport, which will give you a frame of reference to ... Support women and girls playing sport, emotionally or financially.

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WHAT CAN WORLD SPORT DO?

will earn on the PGA. What about the LPGA? The divisions could be almost like boxing. Weight and strength is a big factor in sport, so why separate men and women just by sex. Ok, so you cant define it by weight, as most mens sport is not divided around weight classifications, but there could be a ranking system of ability divisions. This could work well for many men who are unable to compete against the bigger male opposition, but who want a high level of competition, and perhaps a greater degree of exposure than they would otherwise get. There are many men who cant make the mens tour ... why not open the ladies tour up to some of them? As soon as any man or woman dominates in a division, they earn the right to move up to the next division, or at least have a chance to play some events at the higher level, to see how they perform. The mixed sex competition should help both sexes, and it will certainly get the sexes playing together and getting an appreciation for one another. Sound crazy? Didnt the thought of whites having to share their buses and trains with blacks sound crazy not so long ago... or sharing their sportsfields with blacks...
HOW DOES A SHARED AUDIENCE WORK

Schedule women to play short exhibition matches during or before high-profile mens matches and tournaments. Include womens teams at, for instance, boys schools tournaments. Women need the exposure of a shared audience. During the mens major golf tournaments there should be 2-4 womens two-ball groupings shuffled around the mens field. The women could play for an informal womens title if the men feel their participation is in any way unfair. It would be something different for the fans to enjoy and would give women a vital chance to compete on the same stage, even if not for the same prize, as the men. This would further raise their levels of play as well as the publics awareness of the top women players. Perhaps in exchange the womens tour could include some men who arent able to make the senior tour on merit, or perhaps younger men or boys who need to raise their own level or gain a form of exposure. In turn that would give these women players an added incentive and spur to keep progressing themselves with the different challenge presented by having different players competing against them.
WHAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN, BUT COULD WORK?

Most of the successful and best-known women sport stars are tennis, golf, swimming or athletic stars. All but golf enjoy the benefit of frequent shared stadiums and tournaments. Golf has, however, grown as women have started PLAYING the sport in such large numbers, and there is now greater media coverage of the womens tour, but the crowds are pretty small compared to the mens events, and

Destroy all sexual segregation in sport. Let sportspeople find their own level in a newly graded system. Slightly weaker mens golfers would play on what was the LPGA, along with women. The mens tour can include any women who can hold their own on the tour and can sacrifice their womens earnings compared to what they

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the TV coverage is nowhere near as large as for the mens tour. The average guy will struggle to name more than two current women golfers on the tour. One of the main reasons for the existing growth in exposure of womens golf is that women now have a reference point and an aspiration towards golf, and they are the consumers of golfing equipment and paraphernalia. In tennis, the mens and womens tours are separate, but there are a number of tournaments where they play at the same venue. This has helped to get the women stars known to men and women as well as helping them to become high-profile heroes. Its perfect. Theres less division of who are you paying or spending time to watch, and marketers promote one event that draws a shared crowd. You pay, go in and watch. And the whole infrastructure is there to split the costs of admin, marketing, event organization and TV logistics.

IF GOD WAS A GAL

1) Male players would always appear topless in post-match interviews, even if they are sweaty and slightly out of breath... 2) Richard Snell would still be in the Proteas side and Bob Skinstad would still be playing for the Bokke... even into their 40s! 3) Womens endorsements would be based on their ability; mens endorsements would mostly take into account their listing in the Hot and Handsome 100 ratings. 4) Rugby players would wear cycling pants shorts can be left in the locker-room. 5) Mark Boucher would be on billboards countrywide... advertising just the jockstrap! 6) The womens final at Wimbledon would be played last. 7) And theyd be paid equally! 8) The SA Sports Illustrated Swimwear Issue would feature Keith of Storm Models, Gareth of Outlaws and Rob of Max Models in an exotic location wearing teeny Speedos and tighty-whities. 9) And thats the only time men would be on the cover of SASI: gals would be on all 11 other covers! 10) Ryk Neethling would be Yahoos most-hit sports star. 11) AND... the gals would be channel-hopping through channels 21 to 27 on DStv while the guys would be dancing around in the kitchen wearing just an apron (and I mean, JUST an apron!).
SIMON LEWIS The Ball magazine simon@theball.co.za www.theball.co.za

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